


Oddities [OLD FIC]

by OdeyPodey



Series: College Nein [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Additional Tags to Come, Caleb Widogast Needs a Hug, College AU, Flashbacks, Friends to family, Mighty Nein, Multi, Nonbinary Mollymauk Tealeaf, PTSD, mentions of abuse, religious trauma, spoiler warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:35:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26465023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OdeyPodey/pseuds/OdeyPodey
Summary: They were all under the assumption that their second year in college would be normal.Turns out it's everything but-Updating this fic to be more competent. Please bear with me!
Relationships: Beauregard Lionett/Yasha, Caduceus Clay/Caleb Widogast, Fjord/Jester Lavorre, Mollymauk Tealeaf/Caleb Widogast, Yeza Brenatto/Nott | Veth Brenatto
Series: College Nein [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1923904
Comments: 15
Kudos: 77





	1. Jessie

Jester couldn’t exactly fathom going back to college and leaving her mother. Sitting on the floor of her bedroom in her mother's apartment while some music played on the record player in the corner felt surreal. She’d felt this same panic last year when she was leaving. She had her entire wardrobe scattered on the floor, trying to determine what clothes she absolutely needed to bring with her. Should she bring her pink overalls or her blue jeans? Did she  _ need  _ to bring that green sweater or could she go without it until her mother could send it to her?

She sighed in defeat, her eyes drifting over to her phone only a foot from her. She’d been trying to ignore it, already having been distracted by it for an hour. She reached out and picked it up, falling back to lay on the ground. Her back hit the clothes beneath her as she held her phone up in the air. A text popped up, lighting up her screen instantly. She smiled a bit at the name of the group chat. “Yeehaw Lads” has to be her favorite of the names they’d made this week.

_ Beau: Jessie I need help _

_ Jester: ?? _

_ Beau: Do I bring the black jeans or the gray jeans? _

_ Fjord: There's a difference? _

_ Jester: Yes, Fjord, there is a difference. Only you would think the black and gray jeans are the same. _

_ Beau: To be fair I don’t even see a difference. I just assume there is one because Jessie says there is _

_ Jester: Bring the gray ones! That girl liked them _

_ Beau: Which one? _

_ Jester: You know the one ;) _

_ Beau: Shut up _

Jester smiled a bit and pushed herself to stand up, staring down at the suitcase in front of her. She stretched, rolling her neck. She decided she’d figure that out later, turning to her art supplies. She moved over, leaning down to pick up one of the empty boxes, setting it on her bed. This would be fun. 

-

About an hour into the process, she’d given up. Staring into the box she had a vast collection of her favorite brushes and paints, yet she had gotten stumped trying to determine what pencils she wanted to bring. Did the charcoal have to come with? Did she seriously have to bring her vast majority of pallets or could she just squeeze past with one?

“Jester?”

The door creaked open behind her, causing her to turn around. Her mother was peeking in, their dog at her feet.

“Hi mama!” Jester smiled brightly, dropping what she held onto her bed. 

“Hello. I wanted to come check on you. I was about to head out. If you wanted to go get dinner later I’ll be home around eight?”

“No we don’t have to go back out!” She shook her head. “I’ll make dinner at home while you’re gone.”

“Just don’t burn down my kitchen..” Marion paused, staring at her. “Again.” 

“Of course!”

Marion smiled, waving and shutting the door slowly.

Jester turned to look back down at the object before her phone caught her eye again. A facetime request by Beau. She grabbed it, setting it on the shelf and answering it.

“Hi Beau!”

“Jester!” Beau smiled. “Hey listen-”

“Did you even start packing yet?” Jester stared at her screen, eyes scanning over the mess that Beau called her room. Beau was silent, staring blankly back.

“That isn’t important. But Jess, listen! Remember that boy you kept bothering all of last year every single time you saw him?”

“No… wait which one? The one with the red hair?”

“Him!”

“Caleb! I remember him! He was nice.”

“Yeah. So he knows one of the girls in my class, Veth. She texted me asking if we wanted to room with her and Caleb and Caleb's friends!”

“Oooo. So, Fjord too?”

“Of course he’s coming with us!”

Jester smiled, clapping happily. She went back to trying to tetris her art supplies into the box. 

“So, Beau, do you know anybody else? Or like… if we have to share rooms?”

“Veth said we’ll have to share rooms. It’s in Caleb's old family home.”

“Wow his family must be super nice, especially letting him have people stay in their house!”

“Yeah. She said he’s been there all summer and she hadn’t heard from him until last week so she wanted to bring new people into the house to cheer him up.”

“Mama’s gonna be so excited to hear that I don’t have to stay at the old dorms anymore!”

“Of course! I have to go and tell Fjord but I thought I could call you first. I know how attached you are to your stuff so you have… more room for more stuff.”

There was mild conversation before the two ended the call. Jester nodded, satisfied with the amount of stuff she had. She turned to look at Sprinkle’s cage, realizing the ferret had been staring at her.

“That means you can come too!” She moved towards it, carefully opening the lock and reaching in to pull Sprinkle out. “Isn’t that exciting!”

Jester smiled and Sprinkle wiggled around. She set the ferret down, watching it run around the room happily. She looked around the room slowly, mentally processing what she’d get to bring with her now.

She should’ve asked Beau for Veth’s phone number. 

  
  



	2. Avoidance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caleb decides he has to come to terms with the idea of having more than just his cat in the house. He also has to come to terms with something else bugging him, though he's unsure if the commitment is worth it.

Caleb sat at the kitchen table, staring blankly at the papers in front of him. His laptop sat open next to him, however the screen had gone dark from neglect. Part of him was still reeling from his call with Veth: he was about to have nearly eight people in his…  _ their  _ house. And that didn’t include Frumpkin, or friends visiting. 

He ran a hand through his hair, sitting back slowly. Great. Perfect. Just what one person needed in life. He felt Frumpkin brush up against his leg, purring quietly. Caleb looked down to the cat, offering a smile. He leaned down to scoop it up, holding him closely. 

“Hello there Schatz.” He set Frumpkin on the table in front of him, clearing a space for his friend. 

He felt himself return back to the moment, eyes focusing on the papers scattered around him. He sighed and stood up, carefully pushing his chair back into its spot flush against the table. Caleb carefully picked up his phone, dialing Veths number. He’d leave his studying to later. He carefully sat down in one of the chairs, pulling his legs up to his chest. 

The dial tone echoed briefly before cutting off, answering. 

“Caleb?” 

“Veth, hi.” Caleb shifted slightly. “I thought I should reach out again. I kind of.. Blew up on you today.”

“No no. It’s alright. I’m used to it.” He could hear her faint laugh, causing him to smile a bit.. “You shouldn’t apologize. I just wanted to make you feel better.”

“Mhm.” Caleb closed his eyes as he sat there. “I should’ve been transparent with you when you were talking to me last week. I feel horrible for just saying yes and not really paying attention.”

“It’s alright. Like I said, I’m used to it, right?” Veth laughed again. "You're still fine with them all being there, right?"

"Oh.. yeah of course I am. Like you said, I need friends anyways."

"That you do, Caleb, that you do." A silence lingered briefly.  “Anyways, Caleb, I really have to head out. Can I call you back later?”

“Ja. Of course,” he sighed. “Have a date?”

“Actually, I do.”

Caleb sat there momentarily, unmoving. Suddenly his eyes flew open. 

“Wait what-”

“I gotta go. Bye.”

“Veth-” The line went dead as he sat there, sitting up now. He held his phone tightly in his hand, shooting up. 

Frumpkin looked up at him, rolling onto his side in the sun on the table. Caleb looked over at the cat momentarily before looking back down at the black screen of his phone. He frowned and pocketed it, moving back into the kitchen.

He reached out to organize the papers, beginning to stack them back up. He stared down at them, placing them on top of the books. He paused, hand lingering on a letter written in elegant ink and colored lettering.  _ You’re invited  _ stared up at him. He felt something climbing up the back of his neck, a headache beginning to take form in the back of his skull. He winced quietly, pulling his hand away as he reached out to scoop up the cat.

“Let’s go to bed, how do you feel about that Frumpkin?” He smiled a bit at the purring that followed. “I need a nap.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is there a Mrs. Stonebreaker?  
> A r E yO u FlIRtInG w I tH the MinoTauR????  
> He'S FucKinG hOT  
> -  
> This was really short :/ I'm sorry. Quick chapter establishing lore and relationships. Don't mind me, sprinkling Veth and Yeza in here. Don't even @ me I love my funky little family.  
> -  
> I did get a question asking if I'll be including Molly's death in this au and, as it stands, no, I don't plan on it right now. Caduceus and Molly live both simultaneously in this world as does everyone else. BUT if it does change I'll make sure to inform you all on tumblr, in the tags, the summary, and in the beginning notes for the chapter so you don't have to worry about it :) If it changes I'll be sure to make sure you're all informed ASAP!  
> -  
> Uh, but where it stands I'm currently writing these notes after my AP Physics course and on my birthday after a huge panic attack so you know, editing Caleb is like comforting :)  
> -  
> Anyways! I think that's it for now? Probably regret that statement once it's posted lol. But anyways, thank you for reading! Stay safe and wear your masks!


	3. Responsibility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veth drives out to see Caleb. She spends her time reflecting on their friendship and how he's changed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure you read these but Oddities has a Tumblr!  
> https://odditiesnein.tumblr.com  
> I know you all probably read this on your phone, but it looks 10x better to view on a computer/laptop so if you don't mind looking at it and dropping a follow :D  
> -  
> Thank you!

Quite frankly, Veth worried deeply for her friend. She’d known Caleb forever. They’d been friends since they were two toddlers running around the yard, parents watching from a distance. Not having heard from him was an issue for her. It set a knot wound tightly in her neck. It caused a permanent, ever growing, headache for her that found its home in her temples. Even before she’d gotten a phone he would initiate conversations. He used to appear at her family's door as soon as he could come over, still clinging tightly to his school bag, hair wild from the run. Veth missed that Caleb, the Caleb who didn’t care, who wasn’t tense and who wasn’t so panicked over every little thing.

_ She missed Caleb _

Which is exactly why she’d reached out the weeks prior to school starting. She knew he was still crammed in his house, hauled up behind those closed curtains and hiding under his bed sheets like a child. Sure, he’d texted her once summer had started, saying he’d be able to hang out. But everytime she called she got voicemails, and then once the voicemail box was full she started texting. She felt bad being that friend but she knew she had to be that friend.

Reaching out to Caduceus, it seemed as if the other hadn’t heard from their friend either, though he was less than concerned about Caleb's sudden disappearance. She recalled him saying something about how Caleb always disappears during the summer and that this was just something they’d have to get over. 

Though, this was Caleb she was talking about. She’d seen him at his worst, the times he’d come crawling to her out of fear and desperation. She’d held him in her arms during those nights he didn’t want to be alone. During the nights she wouldn’t press on, where she’d let him lay in her room with her for as long as he’d wanted to. She’d also seen him at his highest points. Her favorite memory of him was prior to being invited to a prestigious club in their college, relying solely on his grades and intellect. 

_ Veth liked that Caleb. _

That’s more or less the reason why she’d packed up every single one of her belongings into the back of her Jeep and drove the eight hours back to their university. To their hometown, in search of  _ her Caleb.  _ She’d called Caduceus on the way, informing him of her decision to leave early and that she’d get there the same time Molly got there. Sure she wasn’t expecting his simple “okay!” but at least it was something from him. 

The drive was long, painfully long. But it was worth it, especially pulling up and seeing Frumpkin disappear from his perch on the window sill at the sight of the white car pulling into the driveway. Veth sighed, staring at her steering wheel. She was suddenly doubting herself. What if it wasn’t worth it? What if he got mad again? He was prone to freaking out at something like this. Prone to freaking out at the rug being pulled out from under him, from change slapping him in the face and telling him to get his shit together before it all changed again. She ultimately decided that sitting in her Jeep wasn’t doing either of them any good. She carefully shut off the car and hopped out, clutching the door tightly as she shut it. Her gaze moved towards the second floor, to his room. She was thankful to see the windows were open, the majority of the curtains were as well. He must’ve been preparing for their new housemates. 

She shook her head, finally moving around the car to head inside. She looked down at her lanyard, trying to recall which key was which, when a crunch under her shoes caught her eyes. Looking down she was immediately struck by the golden seal staring up at her. She leaned down and scooped it up, staring. 

“TI?” She turned the letter over in her hand slowly, staring at the return address. “Caleb’s at least making friends.”

She pocketed the envelope, sticking the key in the lock and shoving open the door with a long sigh. Her eyes darted around and landed on Frumpkin, sitting on the stairs waiting for her. She carefully began taking off her shoes watching as the cat made his way into the living room just out of her line of sight. 

“Thanks Frump,” she mumbled, shrugging off her jacket and dropping it on the floor by her shoes. “Caleb?”

Veth rounded the corner, scanning the room again. It took a second. Nothing seemed different since she’d last been here, the books all in their correct spots on the bookshelf, a throw blanket hung over the back of the couch, neglected. She finally spotted a figure curled in a ball with its laptop propped on the table. A blanket sat wrapped around them. It was pulled snuggly up to their nose. She sighed quietly, recognizing the dark circles under its eyes and the wavy red, unkempt hair that peeked out of the top. She moved nearly silently over, reaching up to pull the blankets over it’s shoulders. She felt more or less bad she hadn’t woken him up. Caleb would flip if he came to and completely new voices greeted him with no prior warning. Yet she could tell he hadn’t slept. She knew Caleb almost like she was his mom. She certainly felt like it in moments like this. 

Her phone buzzed quietly in her pocket. She pulled it out, looking at it as she set the letter on the coffee table. It was a text from Molly, saying they’d be here in fifteen minutes. Great. She made her way to the kitchen, deciding if she’d be there for a while at least she could be helpful in some sort of way. She moved towards the sink and began pushing her sleeves up. The kitchen was a mess, as it usually was in the house. She felt somewhat bad. Last time she’d spoken to Caleb about himself he’d been doing worse than when he moved in. Sure he’d said “I’m fine, really Veth” but she knew he meant “I’m not really doing too hot but at the same time you don’t need to deal with me”. However, she never pressed. Now, looking back, she was silently kicking herself at avoiding confrontation.

It was silent for a bit. Frumpkin had come to join her, stretching out on the kitchen table in the sunlight. She could hear his faint purring in the distance that separated them. It was nice, especially considering she was completely alone otherwise. The door opening again just barely registered with her. If it weren’t for the cat jumping down to see who was there, she most likely would’ve assumed it was her mind messing with her. She quickly snatched up one of the hand towels and moved towards the foyer, glancing at Caleb to make sure he was still sound asleep in his spot. 

Veth finally drew her attention to the person in front of her, clad in pretty extravagant clothing, leaning down to pet Frumpkin. Their sunglasses were just barely beginning to slip off the bridge of their nose matching the little embezzlements on the edges of their shawl leaning with the movement. They looked up, realizing she was there.

“Veth!” They smiled brightly, standing up again. 

“Molly!” She moved to hug them, smiling as well. “It’s good to see you.”

“It’s so good to finally see you again as well.” Their eyes slowly drifted past them to the figure in the chair. “And he’s out.”

“Was out before I got here.” She shrugged. “Just thought he’d feel better with some more sleep.”

“Makes sense.” They nodded slowly. “Well. I’d say it would probably be best to get him up and we can start bringing in some boxes?”

“I brought some new cutlery for the group so we didn’t have to share the single clean bowl since someone doesn’t do dishes apparently.”

“Sounds like Caleb.” Molly carefully placed the sunglasses on their head, sighing. “I’ll get him up if you want to start moving your boxes to a room. I’d assume he wants his own?”

“Most likely.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Veth watched the other approach cautiously, narrowly avoiding the mess of scattered books on the ground. She smiled a bit and looked at the doors, deciding she needed something to prop them open. Maybe the garage had bricks? She’d start there.

Maybe everything would go back to normal having everyone there. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's longer than I wanted to and I just wanted to start developing relationships between them all. It's a process but I'm starting to drop some lore related things now so...  
> Have fun figuring that out I don't think it's too hard.  
> -  
> But uh I just wanted to play around with the different sides of Veth. I love Veth so much man D: and Nott equally. Funky little Halfling.  
> -  
> I read through this like ten times but if there's an error just become Helen Keller you do not see. I don't think I saw one but if it slipped by that's on me and my eyes.  
> Definitely think I'm getting sick :/  
> -  
> Uh. Anyways, I do indeed think this is it today. Have a good day, thank you for reading, stay safe, and wear your masks


	4. Adapting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting used to a new house, and new people, Beau knew would be hard for them all.

It would take some time to…. Get used to everyone being around them. At least that’s what Beau felt like. The large Victorian era house loomed over them, a shadow swallowing them whole. She sat in the passenger seat of Jester's car, unmoving. Her seat belt almost felt comforting as it held her down against the seat. The leather beneath her legs burned from the summer heat pounding down on them. The car shut off, the humming stopping almost instantly, the music blasting around them silenced itself. 

“Beau?” Jester stared at her.

“Yeah?” 

“Are you ready to get out?”

“Yeah it just-” Two cars sat in the driveway, trunks open boxes stacked on top of each other. The garage door was wide open, the front doors propped with what looked like bricks. “Seems like we aren’t the first ones here.”

“Oh…” Jester leaned forward to look. “Well we’ll have to meet them some day, won’t we?”

Beau was about to respond, mouth open, as Jester hopped out. The keys jingled, metal clinking against metal. Her keychains brushed against each other, the fabric of the lanyard holding them made a god awful sound against the fluffy donut. Beau sighed, finally pulling off her seat belt, grabbing her phone from the cupholders. She climbed out as well. 

Jester rounded the car and carefully swung her backpack on her shoulder, moving across the lawn towards the door. Beau stared blankly, following her reluctantly. 

“Hello?” Jester made her way inside, knocking on one of the doors. 

It was pure silence momentarily. The house was old, Beau could only assume judging by the light fixture in the front hallway. Her sight was immediately filled with boxes and bags, scattered about. Her eyes landed on a red cat perched on one of the shelves, blinking slowly. It was observing from a distance, clearly frustrated by all of the movement in the house. 

“Oh-” Beau whispered quietly and looked around again. “Okay we have a cat.”

“He seems rather friendly!” Jester smiled brightly, setting her bag down. “Do you think it’s Caleb's cat?”

“Probably. His background was his cat and it looked like him.”

“You’re talking about Frumpkin?” A male sounding voice came from behind them, causing them to both turn. 

A taller figure stood there, a box clutched tightly in their hands. Tattoos lined the figures arms, trailing up their neck and stopping just at their chin. A round pair of purple sunglasses sat steadily on their face. Their outfit was rather odd to the two, a shawl beginning to slip off their shoulder. 

“That is indeed Caleb's cat but don’t touch him if he doesn’t know you. He’ll scratch” He moved past them, beginning to head upstairs. “Caleb’s in the kitchen.”

“Oh!” Jester smiled, watching them. “Thank you… uhm-”

“Mollymauk.” The figure turned to look back at them, a smile pulling on the corners of their lips. “You can call me Molly if you want to.”

“Jester.” Beau watched her instinctively reach out to shake hands, only to realize the situation and pulling her hand back. “And this is Beau.”

“Hi.” They nodded to the two, continuing to where they were going.

“Ooookay.” Jester stood there, rocking on her feet momentarily. She turned, beginning to make her way towards the kitchen. “They seemed friendly!”

Beau nodded, looking down at her feet for a second before pulling out her phone.

_ Beau: Fjord. Where are you? _

_ Fjord: Stuck in the apartment. I was about to leave and then they said they wanted me to stay and it was unfair to leave _

_ Beau: Just deck them _

_ Fjord: I can't hit them, Beau. That would be bad.  _

_ Beau: Just get here when you can. This is wild. _

_ Read at 2:30  _

Beau stared down at her phone with a sigh, looking up as Jester made her way back over which was followed by a man.

“Beau, this is Caleb!” Jester smiled brightly. “Caleb, Beau.”

“Oh, yeah.” Beau reached out to shake his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Caleb stared at her hand for a second before shaking her hand. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

It fell silent between the two as they stood there staring at each other. Jester looked back and forth before looking over at Frumpkin.

“Beau likes your cat.”

“Oh-” He turned to look towards his friend who was still unmoving from the shelf. “Thank you.”

Beau mumbled a “you’re welcome” as she shifted towards the door. “We should start unpacking, if that’s okay.”

“Yeah, of course go ahead.” He nodded. “Veth’s upstairs and so is Molly. I don’t know who else will be here today but I know Caduceus won’t be here until this evening.” 

“Fjords heading over as soon as he can get out of his apartment.” She glanced to Jester who sighed loudly.

“Why can’t he just leave without the two bombarding him with questions?”

“Wouldn’t you be mildly concerned if your boyfriend was moving out without even so much as an acknowledgment to you?”

“Yeah but Avantikas a piece of work regardless and his other roommate-” She shook her head. “Don’t even get me started.”

Beau watched Jester turn, beginning to make her way outside as she continued to rant, more to herself than to the two she’d been addressing. She sighed and followed her closely. She could feel Caleb disappear into the kitchen again, his presence leaving behind her. 

“Jester. We should just call him once we get everything moved into the rooms? How about that?”

“Fine,” she mumbled. “I can help carry your boxes upstairs if you want?”

“Sure.” Beau glanced at her. “Sure, Jes.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spent awhile writing this one, and now I have to figure out where I go with the next one lol. I've been trying to separate the actual au with some little drabbles in between, as you can see :D  
> I hope you like the drabbles as much as the main thing. I enjoy them just as much!  
> -  
> I think I'll be breaking up posting days too, since I just started writing a campaign for my group of dnd bois. I'll be trying to write those as well :)  
> -  
> UH  
> I think that's it!  
> I hope you guys have a good day, stay safe, and wear your masks


	5. Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jester gets a small surprise when she receives a phone call

Jester sat on the cold wood flooring of the shared room. Upon entry, the room had held four beds. One bunk bed and two single rooms. However, Veth had chosen to take her own room in the smallest of the six rooms. This led Beau and Jester stuck with a remaining member of the household who had yet to arrive. 

Her hands were shoved in a box between her legs, a pout on her face. She’d tried to call Fjord with no answer. Last time they’d spoken he was still stuck in the apartment much to her dismay. She was digging through her art supplies, carefully trying to sort out what would go where. Every so often her eyes would drift to the empty wall across the room from her. Certainly one of the three could’ve taken the remaining empty room, and Jester silently prayed the new comer would. 

It was mostly silent outside of the room. Beau had abandoned her boxes on her bunk, choosing to go out with everyone, except for Caleb, to drink. However she hadn’t heard anything from Caleb in the few hours they were home alone. She knew he was probably at the kitchen table as he had been around 7, doing whatever work he’d been doing. Someone had come to the door earlier that night bringing a letter for him. It had clearly shaken him so she just chose to leave him to deal with it on his own before she chose to confront him on the issue.

Which left her sitting in mostly silence as she tried to somewhat organize the room. Not that Jester minded having complete creative control over the contents of their space, she more or less enjoyed it like that. Without having people around to distract her she could focus on what she was trying to do. Her phone lay face up next to her knee, every so often lighting up with a notification from some sort of social media app. Suddenly a call request popped up.  _ Fjord <3\.  _ She smiled to herself, quickly snatching it up and holding it to her ear. 

“Yes?” 

“Is this Miss. Jester Lavorre?” 

She smiled more at the sound of his voice. “This is she.”

“Good. I’ve been trying to reach you. I have a package for you.”

“Oh Fjord you didn’t have to get me any-” Her eyes flickered up to her window, seeing headlights round the corner in the distance. 

“Come outside. It’s gonna get cold.”

“Fjord!” She dropped her phone, shooting up from her spot on the floor and scrambling to her feet.

Jester took off down the hallway, socks slipping on the flooring. She ran into the wall though the force didn’t stop her stride. She caught herself on the railing as she charged for the front door. Grabbing her coat from the coat rack, she threw open the doors, putting on the new layer as quickly as she could. It was indeed Fjord who was pulling into the already crowded street of cars. She felt her heart leap as she subconsciously had to remind herself it was him.  _ Really him _ . He finally parked on the curb, shutting off the car. She could tell by his movements he was equally excited to see her as she’d been to see him all week. She flung herself down the small steps out the front door, sprinting towards his car. The door flew open quickly as he climbed out of the car, opening his arms. She jumped up onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Fjord!” She clung tightly to him as he spun her, repealing from the velocity. 

“Jessie!” He kissed her head gently. “It’s so good to see you again.”

“I know!” She laughed quietly as he set her down. 

“I brought you food.” He leaned back into the car, carefully pulling out the beige bag. “You asked me in the last week of school if we could go get McDonalds so I thought it could just be tradition at this point.”

“That’s why you smell so greasy.” She nudged him. “Thank you. It means a lot. Do you have any boxes I can help you bring in?” 

“Oh. Only a few. We can get them later. I didn’t bring a lot. I need to go shopping regardless.” 

“Alright!” She smiled again and backed away so he could shut the door. “Beau might enjoy shopping…. Unless she’s hung over but that isn’t important right now! Come on-”

Jester turned, reaching for his arm before freezing in her spot. Caleb stood in the doorway, Frumpkin in his arms. He looked incredibly tired and like she’d woken him up with all the commotion. She offered a slight smile to which he just turned and disappeared back inside.

“Who’s that?” Fjord glanced down at her.

“That’s Caleb!” She smiled, pulling him towards the house. “He’s my friend!”

“Seems like it.”

“Come on. We should eat so we can get you in bed! Classes don’t start for two weeks, right?”

“They don’t.”

“Well-” She paused, feeling something awkward when her hand slipped into his. Her eyes looked down at his palm and she frowned. “You got a tattoo?!”

“Oh-” He looked down as well. “I did.”

“That looks so cool! You should’ve sent me a photo! Tell me all about it!”

“Once we get inside and we get you to eat. Alright Jester?”

“Fine.” She huffed, turning back and continuing the trek back across the lawn. 

“I missed you,” he whispered.

“I missed you more.”   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FJORD FJORD FJORD FJORD   
> Gangs almost all here, ya'll we're getting closer to actual lore being dropped :)  
> I gotta get like three more people in this house and then its d o n e we can actually start the f i c   
> Well more like one more person in this house but they aren't a necessity to start moving plot forward   
> -  
> I think that's kinda it for today guys :D  
> Thank you for reading, stay safe, and wear your masks


	6. Compromised

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caleb meets up with an old friend to discuss the letters

Caleb sat in the coffee shop's uncomfortable stools. After the confrontation from last night he needed someone to talk to. The last thing he wanted was to both bombard the new people of the house with his complicated issues or bother Veth with problems. He knew for a fact she had quite a few things she was focusing on at the moment, so escaping from the house was his best option. He’d been trying to both sort everything out, figure out what classes he had when, and at the same time he was trying to comprehend what the  _ hell  _ was happening. 

His eyes flickered down to his phone, the screen lighting up with a text from Caduceus. He reached out to pick it up. From what Caleb understood, he’d been driving quite a bit to get to the house.   
_Caduceus: Yasha and I are on our way :D She picked me up :) Ten minutes away now!_

_ Caleb: Great _

_ Caduceus: Everything okay? _

_ Caleb: Fine. Getting weird letters again. I also have a migraine. I’m also not home, let yourself in. I think everyone else is at breakfast unless Frumpkin can open the door. _

_ Caduceus: Completely understandable. Molly is a hard person to live with. Also, I have a spare key still _

_ Caduceus: Talk to Essek about the letters. He’d probably know a guy through you know who _

_ Caleb: Don’t remind me. I don’t need to think about that again _

_ Caduceus: Lol! _

_ Caleb: You’re the only person I know who uses “lol” unironically _

_ Caduceus: A benefit to me being your friend! You can say you know someone who says it unironically! _

He smiled a bit down to his phone screen, about to text back. His fingertips lingering above the letters staring up at him. He sighed and set down the phone again. He looked back down to the envelope, carefully running his hand over the penmen ship again, fingertips rubbing against the textured paper. It was so oddly familiar, comforting, to him yet at the same time ominous and manipulative. 

The bell on the door rang quietly, signaling someone entering out of the chilly autumn weather. He looked over, greeted by the figure of his friend. He raised a hand.

“Essek.”

The man turned to look, beginning to pull off his jacket. He began making his way towards Caleb. His face was emotionless though that’s essentially how Caleb’s always known him. He stood up to greet him.

“Caleb. It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too.” Caleb sat back down, more or less awkwardly. “Sorry about this being so sudden.” 

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” Essek sat down as well, laying his jacket on the back of his chair. “Show me the letter.”

Caleb picked up the envelope once more, turning and handing it to him. He watched the other study the appearance. He watched him look at everything there before landing on the small golden seel. 

“You don’t recognize it?”

“The symbol?”

“The initials. They were our teacher from last year.”

“Essek, I barely remember last month-’  
“Ikithon.” He turned the envelope around so the other could see. “You can see the T and the I.”

Caleb’s eyes locked onto the marking. Something inside of him hurt, a twinge of pain spreading around his chest. He reached out to take the envelope again.

“Have you even read the letters?”

“No. I haven’t opened them since I didn’t know who was sending them.”

“Maybe you left something in his classroom?”

He glanced at Essek before carefully beginning to open the envelope. He could feel someone watching them. He could assume the other felt it too, due to the fact that he looked up. 

“Let’s talk back at the house,” he whispered.

“Why-” Caleb looked up, glancing in the direction that Essek was staring. A woman sat across the shop, more or less hiding behind a laptop. But she was watching them, staring over the top of it. 

“Come on.” Essek stood up, beginning to help Caleb put his stuff back in his bag. 

Caleb sat there momentarily. It was all beginning to register. He stood up, grabbing his jacket from the table and pulling it on. Essek grabbed the bag as well, turning to leave. Thought Caleb, once again, couldn’t move. He reached for the letter, stuffing it deep into his pockets. His eyes were locked on the woman. She looked so distantly familiar. Something inside of him longed to go talk to her, to go hug her. Something inside of him almost did. 

“Caleb.” Essek was now standing, holding the door open. “Come on.”

“Right.” He looked away. “Coming.”

-

“Do you know who that even was?” Essek looked to Caleb. The two had been walking down the street for a good half an hour, on the way back to the house. 

“She seemed familiar. But I don’t know who she was.” He glanced back at the other, shifting his bag around. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be.” He held a hand out. “Give me the letter. I’ll take it to a friend, he’ll look at it for you.”

“Essek. You don’t have to help me.”

“Caleb, if you wont tell me why you’re getting these letters then let me help you.”  
He sighed quietly, reaching in his pocket before freezing. He patted it before looking down at it. He reached into his other pocket with no luck. 

“Hang on,” he mumbled.

Caleb turned back to look and see if he’d dropped it, not catching anything out of the ordinary. 

“Did you forget it?”

“No. No, I remember putting it in my pocket.” He began taking off his jacket while Essek watched on. “I couldn’t have forgotten it.”

“Do you think it fell out?” He reached out for the other bag, beginning to dig through it.

“It shouldn’t have.” The two fell silent as they both looked. A tension hung in the air. “God damnit,” Caleb mumbled. “It’s gone-”

Essek sighed. Caleb watched his eyes land on a figure in the distance, recognition flickering momentarily before looking towards the other.

“You said you had more, didn’t you?”

“I have five more in my room.”

“Let’s just head back and get a different one.” He grabbed the bag from the ground and grabbed the others arm with his free hand. “Come on.”

Caleb looked down at the hold, jacket barely on again. He glanced back at the figure in the distance, the same one from the coffee shop. She was walking in the opposing direction though her hand held something tightly 

_ Of course,  _ Caleb thought to himself.  _ She had that letter. _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna acknowledge 110  
> Nope  
> Nadda. The friendship between him and his pals? Nope didn't happen they psh they haha no  
> -  
> No But uh, I don't have a lot to say about this one. Lore drop lore drop l o r e d r op :D  
> Also, Essek  
> But that's kinda it.   
> -  
> Anyways,  
> thank you for reading, stay safe, and wear your mask


	7. Astrid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caleb spots some people he hadn't seen for a long time. It brings back some old, and new, feelings.

The two walked in silence for a while. Caleb’s hands continued to move around in his pockets as if he could will the letter to appear. His eyes were locked on the ground, his shoes appearing in his vision briefly. He could feel Essek walking alongside him. Every so often he’d glanced to him only to receive nothing but silence. 

“The key.”

“What?”

“Do you have your key? We’re almost there.”

“Oh. Yeah of course, sorry.” He swung his bag around, pushing his hand into the small front pocket and pulling back with a key. 

Essek nodded as they began walking up to the house. The cars were all still in the driveway and lining the adjacent street. Caleb could just barely see the lights on in the kitchen. Frumpkin disappeared from the front window to say. The motion caught his eye, causing him to smile. He moved towards the door, unlocking it. 

“Do you want to come in?” He looked towards Essek. “I assume they’re making lunch if you’d like some-”

“I’m fine.” Essek held up his hand. “I don’t need lunch. But, thank you.”

“Of course.” Caleb nodded as he watched the other turn.

He sighed quietly as the other walked away, heading back down the driveway and heading back the way he came. He shook his head and went to turn back to the door before freezing. Someone down the street had caught his eye. He turned his head to look, the man walking out of his house had drawn his attention. 

Another person followed close behind him towards the car. They were in a deep conversation. Avidly talking as they began throwing books and bags into the backseat to head to a class. It looked like a girl and guy, though from a distance they looked like blobs. 

However, something else caught his eyes. A man stood in the doorway to the house, an older man. He was well dressed with graying hair and wrinkles covering his face. He felt something in his stomach twitch as he watched, a feeling he hadn’t had in a long time. He could see the way he watched them, eyes locked with every action and interaction. He was watching them like they were two gazelles lost from their pack and he was the lion waiting for them to drop their guard.

He observed, sliding his key back into his pocket. His eyes drifted back to the two getting in the car. They were also well dressed, something about the clothing brought a deep nostalgia back to him. The buttoned up shirts with a vest over them. Definitely part of the more  _ prestigious  _ group in school. The man getting into the driver's seat lifted his arm, sleeve slipping back ever so slightly to reveal a spiraling line of thin scars. The sight made Caleb's skin crawl and itch. His hand raised, carefully running over the sleeve of his jacket. His heart boomed in his chest as he reached out to open the door. 

Suddenly, the woman's eyes drifted to his, making direct contact. The deep sadness looming over her registered in his mind. A migraine began creeping into the back of his head as they stared. He recognized her.

“Astrid?” He felt the words leave his mouth softly without hesitation. 

She continued to stare, frozen in her spot. Since when had they lived so close? His eyes moved back to the man in the doorway who was now also looking at him.  _ Trent.  _ He felt his body move without him wanting it to, suddenly turning and throwing the door open. He had to get out of their line of sight. His stomach turned and flipped inside of him. His hands began to shake as a crimson blush flooded into his face. He let his bag drop to the floor, beginning to tear off his coat. The house was a lot warmer than he’d remembered it.

“Caleb?” Molly appeared in the kitchen doorway. An apron was tied tightly around their waist, already covered in crap. They watched him closely. “Everything okay?”

Caleb didn’t respond. He couldn’t. His chest was tight, squeezing at his lungs. His throat was filling up with air yet he felt as if he couldn’t breathe. He hadn’t felt this way in a long time. He’d done everything in his power to  _ avoid  _ something like this again. He never left over the summer because of it. Now it was almost as if it was coming at him like a bunch of knives from every perceivable angle. He could barely feel the tears reach his eyes and cling to his lashes. He stared back at Molly who barely moved. He knew they couldn’t tell. A sob finally forced its way out of him. He could see Molly begin to pull off the apron.

“Hey. Hey, Caleb-” Molly dropped it to their side, leaving it abandoned on the floor of the living room. “Caleb woah.”

They moved towards him, grabbing him before he collapsed to the floor. This had happened once around Molly, back in highschool during exam season when they’d been out. Caleb collapsed into the other's arms, allowing himself to be held by the familiar body. Molly only allowed him to cling, rubbing his back. 

“Okay okay,” he whispered. “I got you. I got you now.”

“Molly?” 

The commotion had drawn Caduceus out of the kitchen as well. He was holding a hand towel tightly, nervous. He leaned down to scoop up the apron discarded on the floor. 

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, Cad. Everything’s fine. Just overwhelmed.”

Caleb didn’t respond, sinking more into the arms wrapped around him. He felt Frumpkin brush up against his shins, running his face into the jeans. 

“I’ll make some tea then.”

“Ca-”

Before Molly could finish, Caduceus disappeared into the kitchen once more. It fell silent as they stood in the foyer. Caleb felt his grip tighten around the fabric of Molly's sweater. No words were spoken between the two. They carefully pulled him towards the kitchen as well.

“How about we go sit down, okay? Everyone else went out to go get stuff for dinner and for their rooms and stuff. We’re home alone.”

He nodded, looking down to Frumpkin who followed the two closely. He reached down with his free hand to scoop him up. He felt his heart relax slowly, the tears finally stopping as he held the cat close.

“There you go. There’s Frump.” Molly carefully began to pull Caleb's hand away from him as they reached the kitchen. “Let’s sit down, okay?”

It fell silent as the two sat down. Caduceus worked, also, in near perfect silence. The cups clinked against each other as he pulled the kettle from the stove to fill them up with the tea. He turned, setting down two of the three cups in front of the two before sitting down, himself. Caleb could feel the two watching him, eyes scanning. He stared down at the tea swirling around the cup. 

“I saw some people today when Essek walked me home,” he whispered. “They live down the street from us. It’s this woman and man. One has this like…. This really wild white hair pushed to one side and a scar on her face and a burn mark on her neck.”

“Oh-” Caduceus sat back slowly. “I know those two. I met them last night during a class orientation. They’re in my biology class.”

“I’ve seen them occasionally.” Molly nodded. “They leave really early in the morning and don’t get back until late.” 

“Yeah that’s definitely them.” Caleb sighed. “When I lived with them we always tried to leave early so we could avoid seeing him.” 

“Him?” Molly watched him before their eyes flickered to Fumpkin, who was making his way towards them. They reached up, carefully pulling the cat into their lap. 

“Trent-” He paused. “Trent Ikithon. He was a family friend back when my parents were alive. He took me in once they passed… And took me here to this area. We didn’t live in this house or on this street yet.. I don’t know.” 

“Ikithon is a history teacher.” Caduceus looked at them. “He’s weird. Colton, I think, said he had him during college. Didn’t like him.”

“He was abusive.” Caleb sat back. “Physically more than anything. He didn’t like kids, he really didn’t. I don’t know why he took us in. He was touchy feely too. His love language was hugs and gift giving but he didn’t want it to get to our heads. He never loved any of us. He just wanted us for the… the grief and support of it all. He wanted to use us for what we gave him and not for love and care. He hit us, yelled at us if we messed up.”

“Jesus christ.” Molly sat forward. “Can’t you take him to court?”

“I could but I don’t have evidence.” He sighed. “If I did, I would. But I don’t go to therapy either. I have nothing to prove it happened and nothing to prove I’m recovering from it. I can’t do anything about it, Molly. Even if I want to.”

Molly sighed loudly, sitting back in their seat. Their arms crossed slowly. 

“Caleb, what happened to you made you stronger as a person it-”

“No,” Caleb laughed. It was a pained laugh, full of hurt. “No. I was a child. I needed to survive. I adapted to my situation and became a better person because I saw the effect that he had on us as kids. And I refuse to let others sit through and watch what I had.”

He stood up abruptly, the chair falling back and slamming into the ground. With no words he turned and disappeared out of the room and upstairs.

  
  
  


Caduceus stared blankly at the, now, upturned and empty seat. He sighed as he sat back, crossing his arms.

“Well-” Molly whispered. “Guess we should start dinner?”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!   
> Sorry this update... just didn't exist in so long, lol. I didn't mean for it to be forever before I posted! So here it is.  
> Dun dun dunnnnnnnn  
> -  
> One thing I do wan't to address: I've been trying very hard to keep Molly under they/them but I keep hiccuping. I have looked through this a few times so I think we're all okay. Let me know if you see anything different!  
> -  
> Thank you for reading, stay safe, and wear your masks!

**Author's Note:**

> Haha. Family is a l o o s e term in this context isn't it?  
> -  
> Lowkey really excited to write this! I'm super pumped to write all the lore how I want it. This is super exciting!  
> I'm not setting a direct amount of chapters this time, and I'm just gonna add to this as I get motivation! I really think it'll be fun to modernize these babes!  
> -  
> In terms of actual spoilers, I'll be acknowledging all parts of the show, including the more recent arcs. Please don't read this if you aren't caught up  
> Or read it regardless! I can't stop you lol!  
> -  
> I can make a tumblr concerning this au if ya'll want me too. I can talk about the lore I'm including as well as where I see this going, updates, and more!  
> -  
> Uhh I think that's it for this time :D! Please leave some criticism and some questions in the comments! I read them all even if I don't respond!  
> Thank you for reading this! Stay safe and wear ya masks babes


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